Education is the most effective tool to provide students with upward mobility, yet according to data from Boston Public Schools and The Boston Foundation, a ninth grader in the system today has less than a 20 percent chance of graduating from a four-year college. The challenge is even greater for students who will be the first in their family to go to college and have to navigate the process with little help.
There is a tremendous opportunity to improve how we, as a society, are helping Massachusetts students succeed in their academic careers. With hundreds of students now facing displacement in our Dorchester and Roxbury communities as a result of the closings of the John W. McCormack Middle School, Roxbury’s Urban Science Academy, and West Roxbury Academy, there is worry of overcrowding and under-staffing, which will only exacerbate the issue. And while BuildPBS shows hopeful signs of creating long-term success for the school system through investments in new buildings, renovating facilities, and implementing technology, we need to be doing more now.